He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in return.

But dreams don’t last forever, and ours is no exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the secrets we we share will only tear us apart.

I was really excited to read Tracy Wolff’s Ruined because a few friends really enjoyed it. In the end, it fell a bit flat.

Character development is a bit weak. Ethan went from being this beach bum type of guy to suddenly suit wearing CEO. For the most part, he remains mysterious and even when he tells Chloe a bit of his past we still don’t know exactly who Ethan Frost is. The whole beach bum vs CEO felt a bit off. Out of all the characters we get to know Chloe fairly well. It makes sense since she also narrates it. As a narrator I think she’s trustworthy. It’s clear something traumatic happened to her and she doesn’t tell us exactly what it is nor does she give us hints along the way. In fact, we don’t know even what it is until towards the very end. It was also a bit difficult to like her since she was so wishy washy. One moment she was lusting after Ethan and the next minute she had a resolve to let him go. A few secondary characters make an appearance and play minor role. I wish Wolff had focused a bit more on these secondary characters other than a quick mention and it would have brought more substance to the plot.

I debated with the rating between a two and three and in the end decided on a two for one particular reason. I liked the writing up until a certain point and I don’t want to give a spoiler so I’ll tip toe around the issue as best I can. Chloe tells Ethan about an incident in her past and it’s heartbreaking and something no woman should experience. Fast forward to the “it’s not you, it’s me” type of scene where the hero always pushes the heroine away then they make up shortly after this argument. It’s what occurred leading up to their makeup that didn’t sit well with me especially when you take into context Chloe’s past. Chloe makes her stand and Ethan still pushes to the point where Chloe is afraid the past is about to be repeated. Then all is okay despite her concerns. This did not sit well with me and I think Wolff could have addressed this particular scene a little better. Furthermore, Ethan was involved in an altercation with his half-brother and I suspected I knew who he was and my suspicions were confirmed which has me wondering how clichéd will book two be?

Tracey Wolff’s Ruined ends on a cliffhanger and it was an okay read. I would have liked a little more character development and respect among the characters. Despite a few hiccups, I’ll still read the second book to see how it ends.

One Response to “Book Review: Tracy Wolff’s Ruined”

Ahh thank you for this review. I was really considering it but yeah this doesn’t sound like the one for me at all especially with the cliffhanger ending so appreciate the heads up!anna@herding cats & burning soup recently posted…Spotlight–High-Stakes Loving by Fiona Archer + giveaway